Bill Ford at Orlando, FL – Ford Executive Chairman, William “Bill” Clay Ford Jr., was the keynote speaker at the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Ford talked about his vision for the future of transportation, and how intelligent vehicles and innovations such as smart electrification can help solve emerging transportation issues on roads around the world.
Bill Ford has been with Ford for thirty-two years. Ford talked about CO2 emissions and the need to tackle “global gridlock”. The statistics Ford gives are staggering.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an autonomous agency that was established in November 1974. According to it’s website, “Its mandate is two-fold: to promote energy security amongst it’s member countries through collective response to physical disruptions in oil supply and to advise member countries on sound energy policy.”
In the Energy Technology Perspective 2010 (ETP 2010) the executive summary said, “The transport sector is currently responsible for 23% of energy-related CO2 emissions.”
“Despite promising signs that governments are introducing policies to reduce CO2 emissions from transport, much more effort is needed to increase RDD&D funding and co-ordination especially to more rapidly cut the costs of advanced technologies. In addition, greater attention must be directed toward encouraging consumers to adopt the technologies and lifestyle choices that underpin the transition away from energy-intensive, fossil-fuel based transport systems.”
“For the United States, energy efficiency and fuel switching will be important measures in reducing CO2 emissions across all end-use sectors. Infrastructure investments will be vital to supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy, particularly in the national electricity grid and transportation networks. Most of the existing generation assets will be replaced by 2050 and low-carbon technologies such as wind, solar, biomass and nuclear offer substantial abatement opportunities.
Many energy-intensive industries have substantial scope to increase energy efficiency through technological improvements. Similarly, the average energy intensity of LDVs is relatively high; doubling the fuel efficiency of new LDVs by 2030 can help reduce emissions. Advanced vehicle technologies can also play an important role in the LDV and commercial light- and medium-duty truck sectors. In buildings, improving the efficiency of space cooling, together with more efficient appliances, offers the largest opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions.”
